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All-optical production of a lithium quantum gas using narrow-line laser cooling

P. M. Duarte, R. A. Hart, J. M. Hitchcock, T. A. Corcovilos, T.-L. Yang, A. Reed, and R. G. Hulet
Phys. Rev. A 84, 061406(R) – Published 21 December 2011
Physics logo See Synopsis: Laser Cooling Tuned to the UV

Abstract

We have used the narrow 2S1/23P3/2 transition in the ultraviolet (uv) to laser cool and magneto-optically trap (MOT) 6Li atoms. Laser cooling of lithium is usually performed on the 2S1/22P3/2 (D2) transition, and temperatures of 300 μK are typically achieved. The linewidth of the uv transition is seven times narrower than the D2 line, resulting in lower laser cooling temperatures. We demonstrate that a MOT operating on the uv transition reaches temperatures as low as 59 μK. Furthermore, we find that the light shift of the uv transition in an optical dipole trap at 1070 nm is small and blueshifted, facilitating efficient loading from the uv MOT. Evaporative cooling of a two spin-state mixture of 6Li in the optical trap produces a quantum degenerate Fermi gas with 3×106 atoms in a total cycle time of only 11 s.

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  • Received 23 September 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.84.061406

©2011 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Laser Cooling Tuned to the UV

Published 21 December 2011

An advance in laser cooling fermionic atoms in an optical trap brings experimentalists closer to reaching a quantum magnetic phase of atoms.

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Authors & Affiliations

P. M. Duarte, R. A. Hart, J. M. Hitchcock*, T. A. Corcovilos, T.-L. Yang, A. Reed, and R. G. Hulet

  • Department of Physics and Astronomy and Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA

  • *Present address: Thermo Fisher Scientific, 2215 Grand Avenue Pkwy., Austin, TX 78728.
  • Present address: Department of Physics, The Pennsylvania State University, 104 Davey Laboratory, University Park, PA 16802.
  • Present address: Department of Physics, University of Colorado, 2000 Colorado Ave., Boulder, CO 80309.

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Issue

Vol. 84, Iss. 6 — December 2011

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